About this project

$76,381

pledged of $65,000 goal

1,317

backers

THANK YOU to the 1,225 backers that have supported the Temple of Whollyness with only 24 hours to go before our deadline. You are the reason why we have exceeded our goal. This is truly a Temple built by the Burning Man community! If you arrive here after our Kickstarter campaign has ended, and you still want to support the Temple, please go to our website to contribute. Wholly yours,
The Temple 2013

UPDATE #2: We added two new Rewards today. A special offering candle - in your name or a loved one’s - placed in the Temple of Whollyness and five more Temple dinners since the first 15 reservations are already taken. This is the final week so please help us spread Temple 2013 LOVE!

UPDATE: We added 3 new playa based rewards so whether you would like to go on an art tour in a classic art car, dine with our crew in the Black Rock French Quarter, or gather with us during the Temple Burn – you now have the opportunity. Remember, you can always upgrade your reward pledge on Kickstarter. Please pass the word and help us spread Temple 2013 LOVE!

TEMPLE BACKGROUND

We are honored to be chosen to build and burn the 14th Temple at Burning Man and to carry on the tradition of providing a vital service to our community. The Temple of Whollyness will offer the space to reflect upon how to become more whole with our world. Its epic central pyramid - 64’ tall with an 87’x 87’ base – is designed with sacred mathematical proportions and constructed using our innovative building techniques. Unbelievably, this majestic sanctuary will be crafted completely out of geometric interlocking wood pieces that fit together without the use of nails, glue or metal fasteners. Gregg Fleishman’s life’s work, genius assembly, love of geometry, in combination with his architecture and design background will be gifted to the Temple – the largest temporary interlocking wood structure ever!

This soulful destination incorporates a symbolic visual history of the mysteries of sacred places, artifacts and monuments found in nature, religion, and cultures. Well before the organized efforts of constructing hallowed edifices began, simple rock piles marked trails, as well as places of worship, and have been discovered in cultures around the world.

At the axis mundi of the Temple, there will be 14‘ tall x 12’ wide Inuksuk stone altar. An Inuksuk is an Inuit word for stacked rock statuary, often in the image of a human, used as navigation aids and to mark spiritual sites. Their traditional meaning is “you are on the right path.” Our statue will be fabricated out of black basalt, an igneous rock. For thousands of years, the Black Rock that our city is named after was a welcome sight for weary travelers crossing the arid Black Rock Desert and was a key landmark for settlers journeying on the Emigrant Trail. Our black rock focal point will ground the Temple space and act as a guidepost for those looking for the right direction and a safe passage through this life.

Central Inuksuk altar

“A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” (Antoine de Saint-Exupery).

We’d like to invite you backstage into the Temple 2013’s inner circle so you are an integral part of the process of building the Temple this year.

Temple logo

Our $65,000 Kickstarter goal is conservative, since we need to raise double that plus! These funds are what we need to be able to to buy our basic materials -- the wood for
the Temple structure, the cost of router cutting, the black basalt rock for the Inuksuk altar, and the cost of the stone cutting. We recognize that this is a significant amount of money - but this will be our 3rd year in a row building big art at Burning Man - so we understand how much it really costs to create playa magic. In 2011 and 2012, we brought the Otic Oasis and the Man Base Pistil to the desert, so this year our financial well is as dry as the playa surface. We need your collective help to make the Temple happen!

Plus, we are building the TEMPLE and just the main pyramid is nine times larger than the Otic Oasis! So there is no other way to ask for your help except to be truly genuine -- PLEASE help us by donating what you are able to on this Kickstarter push today! Then kindly spread Temple 2013 love by posting our Kickstarter link on your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. -- and join our Temple 2013 Facebook Page.

Here are 3 good reasons why we need to raise these funds as quickly as possible:

#1 We only have 17 weeks from the start of this campaign in mid-April until we begin building at BRC!

#2 We need to buy materials immediately in order to have time to fabricate them (router cut thousands of pounds of wood, hew and polish 17 tons of stone, sew/weave/knit/crochet 4,000 square feet of shade, to name a few tasks).

#3 While Kickstarter is an excellent fundraising tool for our community, their service fees total about 8%, and then there's the additional cost of sourcing, designing, manufacturing, shipping and fulfilling all the rewards proffered – so we typically net only 80% of the monies we raise. This means that on a pledge drive of this size, we won’t receive about $13,000 of what we raise, so we have to continue to fundraise until we reach our overall goal.

Check out our amazing schwag (see rewards) especially designed for our supporters since we recognize that you are an integral part of building the Temple of Whollyness – every dollar you donate makes you our partner! And please visit our website to get further details about our project.

If you are interested in gifting the Temple a large single donation and would like it to be tax-deductible, please contact us directly at tax-deduction@temple2103.org
THANK YOU.

Temple node - 15"x15"

Flame chair

Kitty, Syn & Lightning cruising BRC in 2012

Camp bench

Satellite

Risks and challenges

Building any project in the unforgiving desert has substantial risks, from heat to dust storms to wind to finding out that there's an important part you need that can only be found several hours away. We have added sufficient time in our build schedule to ensure we can erect and finish our Temple before the gates open. With a new type of structure such as this, we also have to ensure it's strong enough -- so we have scheduled a test assembly of a portion of the structure, and our engineers will perform stress tests, and then we'll determine if we need to increase the dimensions of our struts. Yes, we have risks -- but we have a skilled team with a track record. In 2012 we built both the Pistil and the Otic Oasis -- two separate large scale art installations -- and on each build we finished a day ahead of schedule.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $95 or more
About $95

THREE (3) two-sided medallions showcasing our collectible Temple of Whollyness emblem crafted out of rich metal with colorful enamel details. Gift your loved ones and friends this limited edition “collectible” – they will remember you, as well as this year’s burn, every time they wear this coveted treasure (plus stickers).

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $300 or more
About $300

Temple Artists' Dinner: an invitation to a soiree with the Temple artists at the elegant Golden Cafe, the oldest camp in the Black Rock French Quarter. You will be treated to a delectable meal, served by attentive staff, paired with fine spirits, as well as an absinthe tasting gifted by the artisanal and organic Absinthia's Bottled Spirits, all while enjoying live entertainment. Rub elbows and share stories with the Temple builders in an intimate gathering. Your most festive playa attire is recommended. We strive for this special night to become one of your most cherished memories of Black Rock City.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $300 or more
About $300

Temple Artists' Dinner: an invitation to a soiree with the Temple artists at the Golden Cafe, the oldest camp in the Black Rock French Quarter. You will be treated to a delectable meal paired with fine spirits, as well as a special absinthe tasting, while enjoying wonderful live entertainment. Enjoy conversation and share stories with the Temple builders in an intimate gathering. Your most festive playa attire is recommended, as we intend to manifest a magical night full of cherished memories.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $300 or more
About $300

Temple Artists' Dinner: an invitation to a soiree with the Temple artists at the Golden Cafe, the oldest camp in the Black Rock French Quarter. You will be treated to a delectable meal paired with fine spirits, as well as a special absinthe tasting, while enjoying wonderful live entertainment. Enjoy conversation and share stories with the Temple builders in an intimate gathering. Your most festive playa attire is recommended, as we intend to manifest a magical night full of cherished memories.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $400 or more
About $400

Own a piece of the Temple 2013! Unbelievably, the Temple will be constructed without the use of metal fasteners, nails or glue. Instead artist Gregg Fleishman has patented unique geometric connectors, or nodes, to magically assemble his structures. For your generosity, we will send you one of his full-size Nodes (15” x 15”), router cut from Finland birch, signed by Gregg. It is an interactive and unique piece of playa art that is a puzzle as well as a conversation piece. See a photo of a connector node at left (scroll down) and being assembled in hyper speed in the video.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

We will gift you something worth much more than your donation to the project. Gregg has designed the most ingenious "Sculpt Chairs" that are router cut from a single piece of Finland birch. His acclaimed, innovative and architectural furniture pieces are included in museum collections. His signed chairs retail for more than this pledge amount. He has generously created a signed Special Edition of his popular Flame Chair. For this donation, you will receive *one* CHILD Flame Chair. Delivery available in LA and Bay Area; otherwise additional shipping cost.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

Kitty Cat Car Joy Ride with the Temple artists (Gregg, Syn and Lightning) for you and a guest. This furry fun-mobile was designed by the late Tom Kennedy and is now a playa classic that literally stops traffic wherever she goes. The ride will culminate in a special Temple tour and will include a number of fun surprises! The photo at left is of Kitty, Syn and Lightning cruising around BRC in 2012.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

Temple Burn with the Temple Builders on Sunday September 1st at sunset. We welcome you to gather with the Temple artists and build crew as we hold our final appreciation ceremony before the Temple burn on Sunday night, and to join us as we watch this memorable and historical burn together.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $8,000 or more
About $8,000

Own a stand alone FULL-SIZE Satellite structure! (See photo at left). On playa, we will supervise and educate you on how to set it up and break it down, then you either take it away from there, or we will have it ready for pick up in LA or SF. The structure easily breaks down into stackable components so it doesn’t require much cubic space. Plus ten (10) Temple 2013 medallions.